Monday, February 20, 2017

Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host Alex C Vick and her new book, “Stealing Magic”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this
post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card! Also, come back daily to interact with Alex
and to increase your chances of winning!

This book is on sale during the book
tour for ONLY $0.99!!! See below for
more details.

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous
giveaway!

Stealing Magic

by Alex C Vick

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GENRE:
Middle Grade Fantasy

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BLURB:

Shannon thought
there was no such thing as real magic. Until that day. The day that changed
everything.

Put yourself in
her shoes. Would you open your eyes, if you were the one that heard them? Two
magic-takers from another world, arguing about whether they can collect what
they came for before you wake up. It sounds like a crazy dream, or a practical
joke.

But what if the
air around you started to vibrate with an invisible force field? What if, all
at once, it felt scary, yet familiar too? You would have no way of knowing that
this discovery would set you on a path no-one from our world has taken for
centuries. Towards a deadly enemy, and a fight you will almost certainly lose.

All you know is
that your heart is beating so fast you're worried they will hear it, and your
brain is starting to buzz as the force field reaches it. Would you open your
eyes?

Join Jax and
Shannon as they live through the most exciting and terrifying ten days of their
lives!

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EXCERPT THREE:

Jax
reacted first, grabbing Shannon and Darius by the arms and pulling them
backwards towards the bookshelves. They ran deep into one of the sections, as
far as they could go, not stopping until they reached the end. Staring
anxiously at each other, hearts pounding with fear, they waited to hear who had
come through the door.

There
was no sound at first. Whoever had entered the room had done so with silent
footsteps. Then there was an exclamation of discovery, and a man’s voice could
be heard calling “Dorian? Can you come in here for a moment?”

Apparently
Dorian was the Custodian who had been sitting outside. A short conversation
then took place, but the voices were too quiet for Jax, Shannon and Darius to
hear what was being discussed. It was soon clear what had happened however.

The
same man’s voice was raised to say “You might as well show yourself, I know
there is someone in here. And I also know you are not permitted. I can
recognise that the Treaty has been read just a few moments ago, but Dorian
tells me he has seen no-one gain entry this night.”

There
was a pause, and then the voice continued, becoming angrier.

“Come
now, this is a waste of my time and yours. I will find you, and you will not
enjoy the methods I will use.”

Jax
had gone completely white. He recognised the voice as belonging to Marcus. For
a few seconds he tried to think frantically of a way that they could escape,
but almost straight away he realised that it was impossible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST:

Three reasons to
read a Middle Grade book (even if you’re not in Middle Grade!)

Firstly, thank you
very much to Ally for inviting me to write a guest post for her Fabulous and
Brunette blog!

I’m an author of
Middle Grade books, so you might say that I’m biased about this subject. But
honestly, I’ve always loved Middle Grade books. I’ll try to explain why I think
they’re so great.

1. The
Writing Style

You
can depend on the storytelling to be creative. The Middle Grade reader might
not have lived for as many years as an adult, but that’s experience, not
intelligence. The author’s challenge is to find a way to inform without talking
down to the reader. Here are examples of different writing styles from three of
my favorites.

“Maybe
one of the monsters ate him,” Daphne whimpered.

“That
would be awesome,” Puck said. Sabrina flashed him an angry look.

“Awesome
in a terrible, heartbreakingly tragic way,” Puck continued.

The Everafter War,
by Michael Buckley.

Mr
Grousammer, the Headmaster, makes such efforts to annoy me that I suspect he
may be Hasdruban the Pure under the guise of a Mask of Flesh spell. The only
way to tell for sure would be to fix the stings of 1001 killer bees from his
jaw to his neck, and then pull. However, the plan is not without difficulty.
Also, if I’m wrong, there is a serious risk of detention. Again.

Dark Lord, The
Teenage Years, by Jamie Thomson.

It
was bewildering. He was sprawling through solidity. And ever the light grew
brighter. Fear urged him to go back, but growth drove him on. Suddenly he found
himself at the mouth of the cave. The wall, inside which he had thought
himself, leaped back before him to an immeasurable distance.

White Fang, by
Jack London.

2. The
Characters

The
characters in Middle Grade books can be extraordinary, and very real.
Especially given that the author uses fewer words to create them. One minute
they’re making you laugh, and the next your heart is breaking.

“Stars,”
Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.

The Titan’s Curse,
Rick Riordan

3. The
World Building

It’s
immediate, it’s powerful, and the variety is endless. There are stories set in
the author’s version of the real world, past or present, with all of its
recognisable challenges. There are stories set in worlds so fantastical, that
almost nothing is familiar. And there is everything in between.

Here
are two examples: the first is contemporary, and the second is dystopian. Completely
different voices and protagonists, but both draw the reader into their world
very effectively.

He
ended up doing time in prison for GBH. We went to see him once a month, Mum and
me. I remember he was very sweet to us then. He made a big fuss of me, telling
me I was his pretty little princess, though I was this plain, podgy kid with no
front teeth at that stage. That’s the really scary thing about my Dad. He can
make you feel so special – but he can also smash your face in.

Lola Rose, by
Jacqueline Wilson.

Beyond
the fence there are towers, lights, people and machines. Everything that used
to feel normal. And now – I don’t know how it will feel. But without waiting
another second I start striding straight towards the fence, Polly hurrying
behind me.

“Where
are you going, Kester? Wait! You can’t just walk into Premium with a hundred
animals!”

Watch
me.

The Last Wild,
Piers Torday.

And that’s the end
of my argument in favour of reading a Middle Grade book. Have I convinced you?
Or were you a fan already?

Thank you for
reading, and thank you again to Ally for featuring my post!

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AUTHOR BIO:

Alex
writes
contemporary fantasy books for a middle grade audience and older. There are
three (self-contained) stories in the Legacy of Androva series so far, with a
fourth on the way. You can contact Alex, and find more information about
Androva, including a character interview, at http://www.alexcvick.com.

Alex lives in the
South of England with her husband and two daughters. When she's not working, or
writing about magic, she also loves reading and photography.

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

28 comments:

Hi Alex ~ Wahoo! You're finally here! You made it! I know we both were waiting for this day :) Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! Also, excellent guest post! Thanks for hanging out with us today :)

Hi Ally, I am so happy to be finally visiting your blog! You've been such an amazing supporter of the tour so far :)Thank you very much for the chance to provide a guest post and for featuring my book!